Italy/Guide
|Scenario = Hostage rescue }}Italy (cs_italy) contains narrow passageways in the open landscape of the map that leads players to carefully traverse throughout the map or rush to prevent getting seen by enemy forces. Overview While close-ranged weaponry remains popular by many players, snipers and ambushes are also common. Generally, the areas with the highest amounts of snipers are found in the backway, far side, and the apartments while the wine cellar almost never contains players who are armed with sniper weaponry. Instead, ambushes are the main concern for players thus caution is exercised to a great extent. Due to these aspects, a variety of grenades are used for protection or to drive away and reveal aggressive opposing team members. Meanwhile, the market contains large concentrations of players because the area is nearly between the route of the house (where the hostages and the Terrorist spawn zone are located) and the only hostage rescue zone (also found in the Counter-Terrorist spawn zone). Both the house and the rescue zone can easily be camped by the terrorists while the Counter-Terrorists can also be prepared and equipped with their favorable weapons and predict where the Terrorists will run and hide. Note that the house where the hostages are located is heavily guarded nearly at all times. To breach inside, use flashbangs and smoke grenades for assistance but enemies can hide from it by taking cover, can camp close to the hostages or above the stairs, or even leave the house by jumping off the balcony and eliminating opponents from behind. Combining all of these particular events, Italy requires skill in planning, breaching, and teamwork. Failing to excel in any of these characteristics may lead to your team in being dominated by the opposing force. cs_italy.png|Counter-Strike 1.6 Version cs_italy_cz.png|Condition Zero Version Hot spots 'Apartments/Wine Cellar' The Wine Cellar contains campers who are eager to ambush enemy players while the apartments give a combination for both snipers and surprise attacks. To protect yourself and your team, use smoke grenades to cover up your movements, flashbangs to retaliate aganist enemy players, and HE grenades to make eliminating the opposing force easier or for distractions. Be sure to take weapons that are suitable for close-quarter combat purposes as the apartment rooms and hallways are very small. Whenever possible, it is best to attack with multiple groups of allied team members to drive away lone opponents and make enemies back away from you. If these tactics do not work, you can retreat and allow the enemy to come closer and attack or find other routes to reach your goal. Otherwise, these strategies may help you to turn the tables. Counter-Terrorists Since the Terrorists may decide to appoint a sniper to guard the Far Side and the Back Way, it is a good idea to infiltrate through the Apartments, by jumping on some crates and barrels to reach the window. To prevent being suspected that your presence is somewhere inside the building rooms, try to walk quietly and remain hidden for a few seconds. Sometimes, enemies may not be careful in how they move and you can easily be alerted by their footsteps, thus taking them down with little difficulties. Be sure to apply silencers before entering close-ranged combat otherwise the loud gunfire may become heard by other opposing force team members. After you exit the apartments, remove any silencer from your weapons and engage the enemy, unless there are too many to handle for a lone player. If this happens, simply retreat back inside as it is not recommended to jump down the apartment bridge as assilants can easily surround and shoot you down if you are retreating. Throw some grenades, suitable for your situation, to make eliminating or escape easier to complete. The Terrorists may move and guard the entrance after the Counter-Terrorists take the hostages. So, leave a member or two to cover the rescue zone with long range weapons. Terrorists If you are armed with a sniper weapon, you can head toward to the apartments and snipe enemies at the window or defend the area by eliminating enemies at the Far Side pathway. However, be warned that the Counter-Terrorists can climb their way into the apartments with some crates and surprise you inside the small rooms or from the outside. If you suspect this, try to wait, walk quietly to ensure that you are hidden, and use a handgun or take cover. If you are lucky, an ambush could be utilized to your favor and you should be able to maintain control the apartments. Should the enemy remain persistant in overthrowing your position, try to disengage contact with the opposing force and attack from another angle. Try to call for help and throw grenades at the general direction where enemy players will use when attempting to eliminate you. Switching to a handgun can save enough time to reload or escape. If this works, you should be able to gain the upper hand and still survive. Other notes If you have been blinded by a flashbang, try to retreat or retaliate by firing your weapons at the user or throw your own flashbang to make the situation even for both players. If you are highly skilled, you may be able to take down enemies before or during the part when the blinding process takes effect. cs_italy_cz0008 apartments.png|Inside the Apartments cs_italy_cz0009 apartments 2nd view.png cs_italy_cz0008 Wine cellar.png|Wine Cellar spectator view cs_italy_cz0009 wine cellar overview 2.png|Ditto cs_italy_cz0000 apartment window below.png|Apartment Window cs_italy_cz0001 facing apartment window.png|Apartment Window overlooking the Counter-Terrorist spawn 'Far Side' This area mainly serves as an infiltration route that connects both to the Wine Cellar and the Counter-Terrorist Spawn if the Apartments have been compromised by enemy forces. The only major advantage is that the snipers are only present from the outside and allows players to avoid them or seek cover if they are continously assaulted by enemy players. When this happens, team members from the opposing force will often times decide not to pursue the hiding player, due to the numerous amounts of hiding places. However, if a player has to use the far side pathway/staircase, that person should not wait too long. Exposure in this open-spaced area can lead to traversing players being fired upon by assailants. Note: The bridge that branches between the Terrorist Spawn Zone and the entrance to the Apartments can allow players to hide from underneath. However, it is not a good camping spot for long periods of time since enemies can surround and shoot at hiding players from at least three different angles. cs_italy_cz0009 far side overview.png|Spectator view Cs italy cz0002 far side spectator view.png Cs italy cz0007 far side-facing the staircase.png Cs italy cz0004 far side-lower view.png cs_italy_cz0017 far-side in use by a sniper.png|A sniper aiming at the apartments Cs italy cz0005 far side-from the entryway to the apartments.png cs_italy_cz0008 far side-apartments entrance bridge below.png|Apartment bridge from below 'Market/Long Hall/Middle' Generally speaking, these sections contain players at the beginning and the middle of the round and combat does not occur again when the hostages are being rescued, unless a Counter-Terrorist decides to go through these routes. Smoke grenades are used repeatedly to cover up movement and set up ambushes within the smoke. HE Grenades and flashbangs can be thrown to take advantage of its properties but the disadvantages may harm your allies if adequent caution is fully executed. You could blind your team members if the flashbang was thrown improperly and the HE grenades may greatly injure or kill your allies (if friendly fire is enabled). Whenever grenades are thrown, there is very little time and space to escape due to the narrow passageways in the areas. Some players have a hard time in aiming through the items in the middle of the market and campers do not prefer to hide in the corners since they cannot escape easily if they get assaulted by enemies. Sometimes, snipers can be seen but its more than likely they will flee if they see too many opposing team members. Whenever fighting does occur in the market, it occurs very fast and players normally retreat and find another route to use if they cannot gain the upper hand or use flashbangs to quickly progress through the market and leave the area. cs_italy_cz0010 market spectator view.png|Market-spectator view cs_italy_cz0000 Market.png|Ditto Cs italy cz0001 market overview 2.png cs_italy_cz0010 market overview BEST VIEW.png The long hall is one of most heavily guarded Terrorist sniper areas in the entire map. Be sure to throw smoke grenades to make it harder for enemy snipers to predict your movements as flashbangs and HE grenades are not very effective due to range issues. Even if there are no present snipers, the Terrorists may have decided to hide within the hallway, waiting for victims to reveal themselves. Approach this area with caution, as a Counter-Terrorist, and be sure that you are not alone since numerous amounts of team members can assist you in taking down the enemy force from above. Note that a Terrorist sniper will have a major advantage as he can take shelter inside the house and still be able to snipe from the window. If you are playing as a Terrorist, be sure to guard the long hall otherwise if the enemy are able to breach within the hallway, it is difficult to eliminate them especially when they get closer to the house. Try to throw your own grenades to hold the Counter-Terrorists back long enough for you to either retreat or reload. cs_italy_cz0004 window backway.png|House window facing the Long Hall cs_italy_cz0011 long hall-window in use by a sniper.png|Ditto, with sniper cs_italy_cz0000 long hall player view.png|Long Hall player view cs_italy_cz0002 backway overview.png|Long Hall below view cs_italy_cz0023 back way inside view 2.png|Backway over view, closer cs_italy_cz0024 back way inside.png|Ditto, clearer picture Sometimes, players take the middle pathways to get around the map due to its easily accessed entryways and it is located in the center of Italy. Campers are not common in these areas although a sniper may be located above the bridge that connects with the entrance to the apartment building and the Terrorist spawn zone. Similar to the far side area, players do not linger to wait in these passageways and prefer to engage the enemy or complete their team objectives. Unlike most parts of the map, players with assault rifles, machine guns, shotguns, and submachine guns tend to favor these routes as snipers will have a hard time in maintaining accuracy while being scoped-in and trying to prevent an enemy player in sneaking up behind. cs_italy_cz0002 entrance bridge facing middle path.png|Middle path view from the apartments cs_italy_cz0004 middle.png|Middle pathway player view point cs_italy_cz0004 apartment entrance bridge overlooking middle.png|Clearer photo cs_italy_cz0005 middle pathway hiding spot.png|A hiding spot behind some crates cs_italy_cz0007 middle overview.png|Middle above view cs_italy_cz0007 Middle overview 2.png|Ditto cs_italy_cz0008 adjoining middle and long hall.png|Ditto cs_italy_cz0022 Middle path overview.png|Middle pathways 'House/Counter-Terrorist Spawn Zone' The house is tediously guarded by the Terrorists as they are aware that the hostages are one of the main objectives that the Counter-Terrorists must complete (the other one is to eliminate all opposing team members) before the time runs out. It is here that the some of the Terrorists will camp inside the house and await for the enemy to arrive. In fact, it is very rare to find the lack of patrolling Terrorists nearby the house thus the Counter-Terrorists must use caution when entering through the front door. HE grenades are almost never used in this area due to that the blast radius of the grenade can easily penetrate through walls and injure or kill the hostages. Instead, most of the other grenades are utilized to disorientate an enemy sniper, camping enemies, or from approaching enemies. In a few situations, if the Terrorists are completely surrounded and are trapped within the house, they may feel like stuck in an event that resembles the Alamo. Despite this, players must be aware and keep an eye on the balcony of the house as enemies can jump off the area and ambush opponents from behind. Note that there is no ladder to access to the balcony as you must go through the stairs of the house to reach it or use some crates to enter through a window. Finally, as seen in the gallery, the bridge in the Terrorist spawn that is above the entrance/exit of the wine cellar can have enemies camping from the top. Experienced players will know that if a player is shooting at some enemies below, those assailants may decide to go up with the outside stairs and attempt to infiltrate the house. As a result, players from above will throw grenades and shoot around the staircase cs_italy_cz0000 house spectator view.png|The House cs_italy_cz0001 house spectator view-2nd angle.png|Ditto cs_italy_cz0001 House downstairs.png|Inside the house, downstairs cs_italy_cz0000 house upstairs with hostages.png|Upstairs cs_italy_cz0002 House upstairs with window.png|Ditto, with window cs_italy_cz0003 house window.png|Close up of one of the windows cs_italy_cz0007(2) window special sniping spot.png|Ditto, with a special sniping spot, indicated with the crosshair cs_italy_cz0005 balcony.png|Balcony cs_italy_cz0004 window backway.png|Another window, facing the backway Combat in the lone hostage rescue zone (where the CT spawn zone is also located) will only occur near the end of the round (if a few terrorists have survived). There are two pathways that players must be aware of to either guard the zone or to infiltrate through the map. One path leads to the far side and the middle while the other heads towards the apartments and the market. Snipers can be present in this area and can hold off enemies from a far distance. However, if both passageways contain approaching enemies, then escape is nearly impossible, unless you have enough firepower and team members. Note: The terrorists will follow these tactics when guarding the rescue zone while the Counter-Terrorists will generally storm through the area to escort the hostages to safety, if they have enough health. cs_italy0000 CT Spawn Zone.png cs_italy_cz0000 CT spawn zone.png cs_italy0001 CT Spawn Zone 2nd view.png cs_italy_cz0001 CT spawn zone-2nd view.png cs_italy0002 CT Spawn Zone-3rd view.png cs_italy_cz0003 CT Spawn Zone 3rd view.png Category:Tips and tricks